Small Businesses have been of recognized import to the Federal Government for many years. This thesis explores the role of small business contractors in Air Force procurement and the effects of recent acquisition reform initiatives on their involvement, including their method of involvement (contract type), product areas in which they participate, and possible new areas of measurement. This thesis answers the research and investigative questions in three ways. First, it explores the correlation of acquisition reform initiatives to small business participation as a whole, via selected contract types, and in selected product categories via causal regression models. Next, it identifies trends in Air Force procurement via selected contract types in selected product categories via descriptive numerical comparison. Finally, it identifies possible product areas for improved small business recruitment. The results of this thesis are as varied as the methodologies employed to answer the research and investigative questions. First, very little correlation was found between acquisition reform initiatives and small business participation. Next, small business participation trends via the selected contract types in the selected product areas varied much greater than overall small business participation. Finally, several product categories were identified as suffering from a decreasing level of small business participation. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
